


'cause I only wanna make you happy, from the bottom of my heart it's true

by Asian_Aaron_Samuels



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, AntFalcon, Bickering, Blow Jobs, Body Worship, Deepthroating, Domestic Fluff, Hair-pulling, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, I was going to read this over again but I'm so lazy and mentally exhausted, Jewish!Scott, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Oral Sex, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Sam and Cassie being cute as shit because they are cute as shit, SamScott, Scott is a Bad Liar when it comes to Sam but he improves over the course of the fic, Scott's a puppy who's high key in love with his superhero boyfriend so jot that down bitch, Smut, accidentally, again accidentally it just happened, enjoy children, like I didn't realize how many times Sam talked to people on the phone until I started editing, mostly from Dave and Hank bc that's just what happened, tbh seeing the smutty tags made me realize how kinky the sex scene is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-16 10:58:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14810052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asian_Aaron_Samuels/pseuds/Asian_Aaron_Samuels
Summary: All eyes were on them, watching the veteran while the brunet looked like he was ready to spill the beans. So much for a hardened criminal. Hank was grateful the fate of the universe didn't have to rely on Scott Lang's ability to keep a secret from Sam. He said "Hi, I'm Scott," the first time they met after all."Well, I-""They are getting their asses waxed," the Russian man blurted out.





	'cause I only wanna make you happy, from the bottom of my heart it's true

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is kind of set almost two years after Infinity War, so.. I realized too late in the game that post IW would mean post Ant Man and the Wasp, so Janet would be around, but uhh… I don't know how to write her. 
> 
> Also, real quick I made Luis speak Spanish bc I've been watching Vida and I can't not write Luis without headcanoning that he he's fluent--tio is uncle, tambien is too/also, cariñito is like my dear/my love in a soft affectionate way that parents/SOs can use, and machismo is like this obnoxious man's man who is typically misogynistic and such because he's a Man (basically it's an insult).

**FEBRUARY**

Sam leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and his brows furrowed just so as he faced down a threat bigger than some lavender skinned extremist with a stone studded gauntlet. Leave it to Hank Pym to drag Scott away for the evening to go over a mission that Sam wasn't allowed to know much about due to his, as Hank put it, "previously intimate but nevertheless present relations to Tony Stark."

Ten year olds like Cassie were about as stubborn as oxen and occasionally just as heavy when they decide to become dead weight in the arms of the caregiver responsible for making sure they’re in bed by 9:30 PM as Maggie instructed.

The Avenger pondered what approach to take in order to get his boyfriend’s daughter to go to sleep. Bartering was always Plan Z, he learned that the hard way after the fourth time Scott left him to take care of Cassie when she traded sleeping for him letting her watch the first episode of The Walking Dead. The young Lang had been in a good mood all day, ate her chocolate chip waffles Luis made everyone for breakfast, didn't resist when Sam brushed her hair post bubble bath, and was in the midst of constructing her thousand piece Lego set of the original Avengers Tower--courtesy of "Uncle Tony"--with whatever Disney show the kids her age loved playing in the background.

"Cass," Sam called, "Time for bed. You can finish the tower tomorrow."

"But Saaaaaaaaaam," the brunette whined, hands still busy with constructing the fifth floor.

"No buts, you don't want to be tired when we take you to the Exploratorium, right? You gotta be up early."

"But Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaam." 

With a sigh, Sam accepted his fate, he'd have to work to get her to sleep. He reached under the small white girl to grip her under both armpits and lifted her into the air. Barely a second later, he braced her body against his when she became dead weight in his arms.

"Come on, jellybean, bedtime."

"Evil," she huffed.

"Cassie, you know your mom doesn't like that kind of talk."

"I'm sorry."

Sam gingerly deposited her onto the pull out couch Luis and Scott bought in preparation for Cassie's weekend visits. Of course it was only temporary, just until Scott and Sam found an appropriately sized apartment with landlords who wouldn't turn them away once they remembered exactly who Samuel Wilson and Scott Lang were. As it was, Sam was back living on the Avengers Compound back in New York while Scott was doing free tech support for his building manager to turn a blind eye to two ex cons living there.

Apparently, the American public wasn't ready to let the whole "we sided with Captain America because the Accords sucked" thing go. Just as well, Cassie loved living with her tio Luis, cramped apartment in a not so great neighbourhood be damned.

Once Cassie was situated under her pink comforter with one arm curled around the hideous rabbit she affectionately named Paul and the other folded over the blanket, Sam sat beside her to stroke her hair away from her face.

"Comfortable?" he asked.

"Yup," the ten year old nodded. "Can I ask you something, Sam?"

"What's on your mind?"

"Is Daddy going to be okay on his mission?"

"Of course," the black man replied instantly, "You don't worry about your daddy, okay? That's my job. And even then, your parents don't want you thinking about Ant Man stuff."

Cassie frowned slightly, "Hope's gonna make sure Daddy's gonna be okay, right?"

"Absolutely."

His answer satisfied the brunette who was content to let Sam play with her hair. It was their own nighttime ritual, Sam was an only child and the youngest of his cousins, so he never had to learn to care for kids. At her age, he hadn't expected bedtime stories and warm milk to put her to sleep. She was perfectly content having fingers comb through her hair until she fell asleep. Even Maggie expressed her surprise and wasn't too proud as to not congratulate her ex husband's boyfriend on finding his own method of putting Cassie to bed.

Sam hummed more to himself than to the little girl tucked in bed as she resisted sleep to the best of her abilities while fiddling with a ring on a chain the former had never seen before. It was beautiful in an antique way, the impressively large diamond was square in shape and the band was decorated with intricate swirls of gold and smaller sapphires. It was the sort of ring he imagined the queen had hidden in an equally old, oriental jewelry box.

"Pretty ring," the Avenger tapped at the band with one finger, "Who gave it to you?"

"Mommy and Daddy," Cassie replied, eyes opening wider to fight off the growing fatigue.

"Really, did you get it for your birthday?"

"Nooo, it used to be my mommy's, but when she and Daddy got divorced, they said they should give it to me because it's what my great grandma would've wanted."

"Your great grandmother?" Sam repeated. 

Cassie rolled onto her side to look up at him, free hand still toying with the ring. "Yeah, she died before I was born, but she gave Daddy the ring before he got married to Mommy because she wanted her to have it. And Daddy said that if Mommy can't keep it anymore because she's not a Lang like us, then I get to have it."

"Wow, that's quite the story."

"Yep, now I get to have great grandma Ruth's ring," she smiled.

"You gonna be like your dad and give it to a pretty girl too?"

"No way, it's mine," she said resolutely, her small fist closed around the ring like an oyster around a pearl. 

Sam chuckled, he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "And no one'll stop you."

* * *

The combination of a day at the park doing cartwheels, being hunched over a seemingly endless pile of Legos, and Sam pulling out his phone to play the songs he bought specifically for such events finally took its toll on Cassie. She ended up falling asleep wrapped around his arm like an octopus, Paul kicked away and barely hanging onto the foot of the bed, and Ed Sheeran's Give Me Love playing a few inches from her head where the phone was stationed on the hero's chest. As luck would have it, Sam fell asleep too.

He woke up to his green eyed lover rubbing a warm hand over his side. The younger man gave him a tired smile which Scott returned a fraction of a second too late.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"Liar."

Scott let out a faux gasp, "You would accuse me of such a thing in front of my own daughter?"

"She's sleeping," Sam retorted with a yawn.

Gently, he untangled himself from Cassie's side, turned off his phone, and went about going to his and Scott's room while the latter doted on his sleeping daughter. Sam changed out of his day clothes into a red tank and a pair of sweats he had a tiny suspicion were actually Luis's. Well not tiny, the legs of the pants were noticeably shorter than his or Scott's. Something he'd tease the ex con for later.

Scott arrived right after his boyfriend was already in bed laying on his side. He quietly changed into a grey pajama set Hank had gifted him last Hanukkah, turned off the lights, then crawled under the covers behind Sam. With one arm underneath his pillow and the other curled around the latter's waist, Scott closed his eyes.

"How was your day?" he asked, nuzzling into Sam's neck.

"Fine."

The green eyed male paused his ministrations, "Did I do something wrong?"

"I just want to know why you're so quiet about the mission."

"Sorry, I'm just not talkative right now. You know how Hank gets before a big mission, he goes from perfectionist to anal retentive dictator. If I make the ants put one more sugar cube in his tea than he likes he'll start screaming."

Sam lifted his hand to stroke Scott's knuckles, his tank had ridden up when he laid down and the heat from Scott's hand on his skin was almost therapeutic. Like chugging hot coffee and feeling it pool in his gut.

"Hank only gets like that if you're about to be knee deep in danger."

"It's not gonna be that dangerous," the older man replied, "I've handled worse. _You've_ handled worse."

"Cass asked me if you're going to be okay on this mission."

The white Avenger tensed, "What did you say?"

"I told her you would be and that Hope will be with you anyways. I said it's my job to worry about your ass, not hers."

"Thank you," Scott replied, relief flooding his tone.

"Nothing to thank, bug boy. She's a kid, she doesn't need to be thinking about that kind of stuff."

The oldest of the pair pressed a kiss into his lover's shoulder. He understood quite well that having a superhero dad--and cop stepdad--wasn't easy for Cassie. His ex informed him months ago that their daughter had taken to using her iPad to keep up with the news just so she could stay on top of what the grown ups in her life deemed not age appropriate for her to know.

"You know I'm going to come home, right?"

"That a promise?" He felt the other man nod against his back. "Then you're coming home, nothin' to it."

Sam interlocked their fingers, let the weight of their joined hands press against his stomach like a stone keeping him in place. For his part, Scott hooked his chin over his boyfriend's shoulder. He hummed a tune with no rhyme or rhythm, just let the rumble of his chest lull the younger man to sleep with Scott not far behind.

* * *

After what the world of heroes dubbed the Infinity War, the various factions of heroically inclined people of the universe all agreed life was too short to not spend it with friends. There was no telling when a hug was the last one or the words between friends said out of anger and hurt could never be taken back. Once apologies and praises were exchanged, it became clear that being heroes and having different M.O.s couldn't get in the way of years of friendship.

For those of Team Ant Man/Wasp, that meant many meals spent either in the tiny Hernandez-Lang apartment or at Hank's more lavish house. The obvious choice was Hank's, but there were rare occasions when the two ex cons hosted. When they traded Hank's lovely dining room for tripping over chair legs and sitting on the floor until their butts fell asleep because someone's favourite Will & Grace rerun was on and the new couch simply wasn't meant for more than three--four if Sam was in town and he or Scott sat in each other's lap--people at a time. Except for that one time Dave was hellbent on proving them wrong that he could lay on his side on top of the couch's backrest with only support from the wall, which then led to Kurt getting a knee to the neck when Dave would jerk forward during the scary movie they'd put on.

As was tradition for any brunch where Luis was cooking, he made his signature Belgium waffles and fried up the meat while his old cellmate handled the hot beverages and fruit. Sam liked to help too when he was around, frying eggs or dusting powdered sugar on waffles. But there were days when he'd roll out of bed, slip out of his room and go to the couch to rest his head on Hope's shoulder while he struggled to fully wake up. Scott went over to deliver a cup of piping hot coffee and a lingering good morning kiss that had Hope swatting him like a fly.

Brunch was served with everyone in the apartment sitting at the small table, breakfast nook, or the couch. Sam sat beside his boyfriend half draped over his shoulder while he munched on hash browns and listened to the roomful of Warriors fans talk about their unwavering faith in their team while occasionally giving his two cents on the Knicks.

No one questioned the rushed pace at which Luis and Scott ate their food, they chalked it up to old prison habits kicking in. The two of them devoured their meals in record time before excusing themselves to shower and change.

Since they cooked, it was left to their guests to clean up. Sam was in the middle of a heated Rock, Paper, Scissors match with Kurt over who would have the bad luck to take the metal folding chairs back to Mrs. Maynard downstairs when his boyfriend came up from behind him. He felt the engineer wrap his right arm around his shoulders in a half assed hug, not that he could tell from the way Hope was trying to smother a tiny smile, so Sam craned his neck to face him.

"Okay, baby, love you, I'll miss you, be back in time for dinner," Scott pressed a chaste kiss to the apple of Sam's cheek as he rushed to the door where Luis was already standing.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Sam asked.

"Don't tell me, I know this joke," Kurt said.

"No sexual innuendo at the brunch table," Hope chastised before taking a bite of her fruit parfait.

The older Avenger whipped around, a slightly panicked look flashed over his face. He quickly replaced it with a charming smile that showed off his pearly teeth and crinkled his eyes.

"Me and Luis are just going out to run an errand."

"Fun, what're you guys going to do?"

"A thing, a guy thing, that guys like us have to do. Now. Because we've gotta go soon."

Sam's brows furrowed, "Uh huh. You bump your head, babe? You're acting really weird."

"You mean weirder than usual?" Hank commented from his spot on the couch, he took a pointed sip of his tea.

"Yo, old man, stay outta this," Dave scowled from beside him.

"Respect your elders, David. Drink your tea."

"How about you drink _your_ tea?”

"Boys," Hope exclaimed in an exasperated tone, prompting both men to fearfully take a sip of their drinks.

“Scott?” Sam called.

"We're gonna go, uhh," Scott trailed off.

"You see, bro, we have reservations to," his best friend added lamely.

"Hope! What-what was that thing Luis and me are doing today?"

"Scottward, do not drag me into this," said woman stated as she watched the scene unfold.

Sam stood up from his chair to cross the room where Scott was. He grabbed the other man's bicep to catch his attention, brown eyes imploring and oh so kind. Scott felt a bit like an asshole because of it.

"Babe, you can tell me," the younger Avenger squeezed gently.

All eyes were on them, watching the veteran while the brunet looked like he was ready to spill the beans. So much for a hardened criminal. Hank was grateful the fate of the universe didn't have to rely on Scott Lang's ability to keep a secret from Sam. He said "Hi, I'm Scott," the first time they met after all.

"Well, I-"

"They are getting their asses waxed," the Russian man blurted out.

The room went silent after Kurt's outburst, jaws dropped and eyes were blown wide. Scott's face resembled a tomato while his best friend looked beyond mortified. In the background, Hank was cursing from spilling his tea over himself in shock.

"You guys are getting your.. asses waxed." Sam repeated.

Luis was the first to recover from his shock in order to nod quickly. "Yes, yes, absolutely, bro. See, I got this cousin, Valentina, if you're chill with her though you can call her Tina, who works at that one beauty place next to the Chinese joint we hate. She's been talking about how she's been getting mad business with dudes wanting to get Brazilians, but instead of the punani and the asshole, it's the nuts, chode, and, yeah, the asshole still. Me and Scotty thought it would be cool to get it done seeing as how you eat ass and I just want it for the aesthetic and the experience, like, 'Bro, I got my ass waxed and this is what it felt like!' You know what I'm saying? And you know the ladies will dig it because I like getting my nuts sucked and occasionally I find a freaky girl willing to eat my butt too, but I don't want to go into detail tambien because it's about my genitals."

"Well then," the black Avenger swallowed, he blinked owlishly while trying to process the new information, "Uhh, have fun?"

"Thanks, we will. I guess. As much as we can having wax spread on our pubic hair." Scott scratched the back of his neck.

"Aaand brunch is over," the sole female in the apartment put down her half eaten slice of chicken sausage. "Forever."

Awkwardly, Sam kissed Scott's cheek before releasing his grip on him. Scott took the opportunity to stutter another goodbye then hastily opened the door to flee from the incredibly embarrassing situation. Luis followed soon after, shutting the door far too hard to be subtle, but considering his previous action involved explaining how he intended on getting his nether regions waxed no one would blame him. They went to the stairs where they took two steps at a time as if getting farther from their apartment would magically erase what transpired, not that Scott wasn't wondering if he could ask Stephen Strange if that was a possibility. Probably not, but a guy could hope.

Once in the safety of Luis's van, Scott let out a heavy sigh while scrubbing his eyes. Bleary eyed, he looked at his roommate whose cheeks were darker than usual. At least he knew Luis was just as affected by what Kurt said too.

"Thank you for covering, but what're we gonna do when Sam and I have sex and he sees my rainforest never got a Brazilian wax?"

Luis started the car, "Don't worry, Scotty. I was tellin' the truth, my cousin Tina _does_ work at a beauty parlour." He patted his friend on the back. "Now come on, we gotta make an appointment for your deforestation."

* * *

**APRIL**

Sam may or may not have a thing for feeling teeth drag down his stomach. Okay, he definitely had a kink for that delicious combination of teeth sliding down his belly, the ticklish scrape from Scott's stubble, and the soft warmth of his pink lips soothing any bite or scratch. He was entitled to his own vices, sue him.

There was nothing like a lazy Thursday afternoon with Marvin Gaye crooning in the background, not that either of them were particularly familiar with not being productive in the middle of the week. Thursdays were for work, picking up Cassie from school on occasion, and of course saving the world.

But for the most part, the universe was safe and there were superheroes in just about every corner of the globe ready to fight for it. Hope and Shuri could protect the Bay Area, Scott and Sam had more engaging plans. Just because those plans involved listening to their Lovemaking Playlist--courtesy of Dave one boring afternoon at the office--and bumping uglies to Aerosmith didn't mean they weren't important.

Sam choked on a moan when his lover didn't shy away from biting at his lower belly, the sting was accompanied by the burn of a prominent five o'clock shadow. He'd never considered himself a fan of being bitten, but he'd be damned if he told Scott to stop for anything short of a 7 on the Richter scale. Deftly, he let his hands travel where they pleased, roaming over his pecs, down the hot path Scott's mouth had gone, then he lifted one to grab a handful of dark brown hair as he urgently raised his hips into the latter's chin.

"Come on, Tic Tac," he urged.

The ex con laughed, he shifted onto his knees so that he could use his newly freed hands to tug his boyfriend out of his boxers. Sam was half hard in his hand but swelling by the second as the heat from Scott's palm enticed the rod of hot flesh. Scott swallowed him down until his nose pressed against the patch of coarse hair on Sam's groin. The latter let out a heady moan, his fist tightened its hold on the older man's hair. Countless times Sam thanked God that Scott's gag reflex was non existent, it allowed him to guide his cock into his mouth without fear of hurting the brunet. Instead, he shamelessly used the grip he had on his teammate's head to make him deepthroat him.

Scott happily allowed the younger Avenger to direct him as he pleased, he was more than content hollowing his cheeks and licking around the hard member in his mouth. He looked up at his boyfriend, feeling the pool of arousal low in his belly turn to lava at the sight. Sam was using his right hand to pinch and scratch at his nipples until they formed hard peaks while his other hand loosened its hold on Scott's brown locks to pet his hair affectionately.

Preening, Scott moaned around the cock in his mouth, his ears perked at the high pitched sound the darker skinned man let out. He loved Sam. Sam deserved nothing but love and blowjobs. Well, there were other things, but those could wait. At the moment, Scott was intent on giving him an orgasm.

With his left hand, the older man reached below his chin to fondle Sam's sack in a way that had the latter keening. Scott wished that Sam had come along when he went to get waxed, he'd love to suck his balls the way he likes. There was just something about the needy sounds that Sam made when his balls were given the same attention as his erection that made Scott feel dizzy with arousal.

"Scott," Sam whispered, getting another pleased moan that vibrated everything from his dick to his balls from where Scott's chin was pressed down on them.

He used his free hand to tenderly stroke Scott's cheek, feeling the hot blush practically burn his fingertips. The added attention made Scott look up, green eyes stared at him as he moved his mouth up and down Sam's cock. Affectionately, the latter's fingers trailed down to thumb at the brunet's swollen pink lips. 

"Don't suck me off all the way, okay? Still gonna-damn, Scott. Still gotta fuck you."

Scott's eyes crinkled at the corners in what his lover interpreted as his best attempt at smiling with a mouthful. His lashes fluttered as he demurely closed his eyes to focus on his oral ministrations. Sam continued to show him love though, alternating between massaging his scalp and rubbing at his heated skin reverently. A pleasant tingle traveled from his groin to his spine and spread out like electricity making him melt into the sheets. If Sam wasn't so hard he'd probably fall asleep with the warmth of Scott's mouth around him and the music drifting through his ears.

_"Sweet creature, sweet creature_  
_Wherever I go, you bring me home_  
_Sweet creature, sweet creature_  
_When I run out of road, you bring me home"_

Sam's brows furrowed at the new voice and unfamiliar lyrics, this wasn't one of their usual songs. The acoustic sound was nice, he'd give the artist that, but he wasn't a fan of the singer or the lyrics. A little too teen love song for him, not exactly something he'd like to get down and dirty to.

"Babe, who the hell is singing?"

Scott pulled off Sam's dick with an audible _pop_. "… Harry Styles."

The younger hero looked at his boyfriend with a bewildered expression before struggling to prop himself up on his elbows to have a proper conversation during an improper time.

"I'm not having sex to Harry Styles."

"Would you prefer the whole band? I have their Made in the AM album," the ex con asked.

"Scott, that is the gayest thing you've ever said and you begged to suck my dick less than an hour ago."

"Hey, I appreciate the pop genre."

"Change it, please."

Scott pursed his lips as he reached beside the pillow his lover was resting his head on to retrieve his phone. He was disappointed Sam didn't like the song, the barista at Starbucks the day before said it was a really sweet song. Though in all honesty Scott was more of a Niall fan.

"What about Down On Me? It works because I _am_ actually going down on you, get it?"

"Scott, the ants get you. And no."

"You're no fun, how about KISS?"

"KISS isn't romantic or sexy."

"That is the most uncultured thing I've heard in my life," Scott exclaimed while scrolling through his phone to find Anything For My Baby. He let the song play while he reached into the nightstand to retrieve lube.

_"Anything for my baby_  
_I would steal anything for my baby_  
_I'd wheel and deal anything for my baby"_

"You're egregious, old man."

Sam confiscated the phone from his lover to find the most suitable song that wouldn't make his erection deflate. He passed through all the rock, country, random pop songs and Disney movie soundtracks Scott swore were for Cassie.

"You still got our normal sex playlist or did you taint it with Christina Aguilera?"

Scott nodded as he straddled the other man's hips, "Yeah, but I'm not a Christina fan. Genie in a Bottle is the only exception."

"Guess I gotta pick the song before you play Dangerous Woman or something." He eventually found the aforementioned playlist and pressed Shuffle. The phone was haphazardly tossed onto the bedside table.

With the speed and grace of the very bird he got his moniker from, Sam wrapped his left arm around Scott's neck and used his other to curl over the right side of his waist, then efficiently rolled them over. He took the time to situate his knees into a comfortable position while the brunet recovered from the unexpected switch in positions.

Flat on his back Scott pouted before handing over the tube, "I was just trying to shake things up. No need to insult Ari."

The younger of the two rolled his eyes fondly, he uncapped the lube and squirted a generous dollop onto his fingers. In the background, Lionel Richie's soothing voice crooned from the abandoned phone. Sam could live for a thousand years, but nothing would compare to the love songs he heard in his youth. He'd ask about whatever made Scott change up their usual list of lovey dovey Blake Shelton songs and Boys II Men after everything was said and done.

A moment later, he pressed a slick finger to his boyfriend's hole, making Scott's breath hitch in response. He pumped the finger in an unpredictable rhythm to keep Scott from getting used to it until he decided to add another. The soft wail the engineer let out made a cocky grin form on Sam's face. It was only fair to torture him a little after the intense blowjob.

"Well damn," Sam said just above a husky whisper.

"What?"

"That ass waxing really made a difference," he laughed.

Scott threw his pillow at him, cheeks turning bright red, "Shut up."

"Aw, don't be shy about it."

Still laughing, Sam pulled out his fingers to switch positions in order to lay on his stomach. Scott's raised leg allowed his lover to use his inner thigh as a pillow. He added a third finger to the glistening pink hole, enjoying the strung out "aah" that left his lover's mouth at the stretch. With his left thumb, he stroked the stretched rim then traveled to the smooth, sculpted cheeks he couldn't wait to turn red in a bit.

"I don't want to sound creepy, but I'm loving your freshly waxed ass."

"I'll be sure to tell Tina," Scott's reply came out muffled, having shoved a pillow over his face to hide his embarrassed expression.

"Seriously, I could spend the rest of the day eating your ass."

The brunet wiggled his hips as much as he could with Sam between them, the lower half of his face peeked out from underneath the pillow. "Why don't you?"

"Got other plans for your ass, babe. Literally."

On that note, Sam moved back to his previous position to keep pumping his digits into Scott's ass, but this time he leaned down to make a mess of his neck and shove away the pillow obstructing his view of Scott's enflamed face. He sucked and bit and rubbed his beard against the red skin in a way he knew drove his lover crazy.

"Sa-am," Scott panted, a whine pushing out of his throat at a particularly hard suck on his Adam's apple.

"Yeah, Scotty?" said man palmed at Scott's left pec before he moved onto tweaking his stiff nipple.

"Fuck me, I'm gonna come soon..!"

Sam shook his head, "Not yet, hold on."

Sam pointedly shoved his fingers against Scott's prostate, laughing lowly at the mix of surprise and ecstasy warring on the latter's face.

"Sam, fuck, please, fuck," the older man panted, trying to grind down on the fingers making him see stars.

Using his left hand, the black hero reached up to grab a fistful of Scott's hair, making him look up at Sam with lust and devotion in his eyes. Sam could tell he'd do anything to come.

"Sam," he begged.

"I'm gonna fuck you, Scott, I promise. You just have to say the magic words, remember?" Sam looked down at the nearly blissed out expression on Scott's face, how his pink mouth kept moaning helplessly. "It's just three words, Scotty."

"I-I," Scott stuttered, he felt like he was losing his mind at each jab at his prostate and the sweet stretch of his hole.

"You. Can. Do. It. Scott." Sam punctuated each word with pecks to his open mouth.

"Sam, I-" the brunet's hands shot up to claw at his lover's arms when the fingers giving him pleasure pushed as far in as they could and rubbed brutally over his sensitive gland. Teeth trailed over his throat again, grazing over the bruised skin in a way that danced on the line between painful and arousing.

"You're so close, baby. Come on, I know you can do it. Please?"

"Fuck! I love you, Sam!" Scott wailed, a sound that only intensified when the fingers slipped out of his hole.

Sam pressed their foreheads together while he shushed the other man. He whispered filthy promises of what was to come while he blindly searched for the lube again to coat his dick with extra slick. In a heated frenzy, he smeared the remaining lube against Scott's abs just to see the way his muscles shined from it. The same hand was used to line his dick up with Scott's ass.

"That's all you had to say," Sam laughed. He kissed his older lover's sweaty temple before slowly sinking into his hole.

They were both too wound up and desperate to last long, minds clouded with lust and love and a need to _be together_. Scott came first between their slick bellies with a finger teasing at his boyfriend's puckered hole until Sam was spilling his seed deep inside his wet channel and hoarsely letting out his own "I love yous".

Sam collapsed on top of Scott, no longer able to hold up his weight with post orgasm bliss turning his bones to jelly. Not that Scott minded, it just meant he got to enjoy the weight of Sam in two places at once. They kissed lazily until they were both too tired to do anything but fall asleep with Scott's phone still playing in the background.

_"Boy, you should know that your love is always on my mind_  
_I'm not gonna fight it, I want it all the time_  
_Boy you should know that your love is always on my mind_  
_I can't it deny it, I want you, I want you"_

* * *

**MAY**

Sam unlocked the front door with glee before pushing it open with his right shoulder, "Hey, Scott! Guess who's home!" He scanned the apartment from left to right, spotting Dave on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. "Sup, man. Scott home?"

Dave looked up at him with surprise. "Sam, what're you doing here? Scott didn't say anything about you coming."

"Yeah," the Avenger grinned, "Wasn't needed for a mission, thank God really, I hate the humidity in Argentina, so I decided to come here for the weekend to surprise Scott. Where is he?"

The door to the bathroom opened, making Sam grin wider until the white guy behind the door turned out to be Kurt who mirrored his friend's expression.

"Sam, why are you here?"

The grin Sam had disappeared at the same question he'd just been asked less than a minute ago. His brows furrowed slightly, his left hand clenched the strap of his duffel bag nervously, wondering why neither man seemed particularly happy to see him. Granted, his last minute visit might throw a wrench in any plans the two had with Scott, but spontaneity kept relationships alive and he missed his favourite idiot.

"Where's Scott," he said again.

Dave sat up straight before he replied, "He and Luis went on some wine tasting train thing."

"Wine tasting?" Sam felt a physical need to take a step back. "They went _wine tasting_?"

"It is a bonding activity," Kurt explained.

"Yeah, yeah," Dave nodded vigorously, "You know how it is, bruh. Scott didn't have Cassie and you weren't supposed to be here, so they went on a trip to Napa."

"And then they go to famous director's vineyard tomorrow." The Russian hacker jerked his head towards Scott's bedroom door. "Need privacy to talk to him?"

Sam nodded, thanked the two for informing him about his boyfriend's whereabouts, and then swiftly made his way to the room he shared with the MIA Ant Man. As soon as the door was closed behind him, he reached into his back pocket for his phone and called Scott.

Said man picked up after the second ring, his tone more serious than usual. "Sam, hey, babe. Are you okay? Where are you?"

The younger man's face scrunched up at the questions, "I'm fine, and I'm actually at your place right now."

"Oh! Okay then, good."

"Good?" Sam echoed.

"Yeah, well I knew you said you might be going on a mission today, and when you called I kind of got that 'Just in case something happens to me' chill down my spine, so I got a little freaked out answering. Sorry if the way I answered the phone was weird. I just got worried that like you were about to drop out of a plane and take on a murderous megalomaniac."

"Nah," Sam let his shoulders drop at the perfect honesty in the older hero's tone, his duffle nearly slipped from his body so he put it down next to the bed before taking a seat on the rumpled, navy blue sheets. "No megalomaniac, just Kurt and Dave who I'm guessing are housesitting while you and Luis are on a train to Napa?"

"It was Luis's idea. Just to get out of the house and try something new. I figured it wasn't something you'd want to do because believe me, I don't want to be here and we just got on the train an hour ago. I feel like Bob Belcher right now."

"But you didn't tell me you were going. Not that I'm trying to say you gotta tell me wherever you go, Tic Tac. Just kinda weird that you didn't mention it before."

"It was a spur of the moment thing," Scott reassured him, "Luis's cousin Mylene told him about how they were serving a lot of white wine on this thing, and he said we had to go. I'm all for having bro weekends, but I like playing laser tag and listening to Bon Jovi while we eat In & Out."

"And Luis is a more 'let's go see this black and white French film at this dilapidated cinema' kind of guy," Sam laughed.

"Exactly." An audible sigh traveled through the phone, "Hey, so-"

He could hear Luis's boisterous voice in the background, effectively cutting off the older man followed by some back and forth between Scott and his best friend.

A second later, Luis was chattering away at his ear, having a mostly one sided conversation on why he preferred white to red wine and the misconception that red wine could not be paired with fish. When Sam managed to stop the Latino from going on a tirade over why he didn't like red wine, he asked how he managed to convince Scott to spend the day sipping and spitting wine.

"Bro, it's been like a fantasy of mine to go to a wine tasting on a train. I mean the one I really wanted to go on includes visiting a castle, but it was all booked up for the weekend. I know Scott's not having as much fun, but at least we can laugh at rich white people together." 

"Nothing joins marginalized people like laughing at rich white people," Sam agreed with a small smile.

"Cheers to that, dude."

The two laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Sam asked if his boyfriend was miserable sitting in a train sipping different wine, so Luis told him about how he accidentally spilled some on his shirt, and about the bachelorette party they'd met on the train who forcibly stripped him of his shirt to put him in a spare "Bride Squad" tee that fit him like a crop top he might've worn in the 80s.

"My poor baby," Sam cooed, only feeling a little bad at the older man's misfortune.

"Meanwhile, ya boy's gotten two chicks' numbers. Daddy's got game."

"Luis!" the black man let out a half laugh, half groan. "You gotta stop calling yourself Daddy in the third person, it's really weird."

"Daddy can't do that, just go with it, cariñito."

Sam started to laugh so hard his sides ached, he turned to lay on his side facing the window. He liked Luis a lot. It was weird for Sam to think that if Scott never became Ant Man, or if he'd chosen not to recruit him, that they wouldn't have met. Or Kurt and Dave. Maybe Hope because of Hank's ties to Howard, but he didn't think he and Hope would talk much without their favourite bumbling idiot they had a soft spot for bridging that gap. He wouldn't be an honorary member of Team Ant Man and the Wasp. Sam wouldn't know his little, pink jellybean _Cassie_. 

The hero felt a sudden gratefulness for the path that put him in the Air Force, each step that brought Scott to the Avengers Compound when he was guarding it, and the quick strides they made when they kissed for the first time after Sam was brought back to life because _goddamn_ did he kind of like Tic Tac back then.

"Bro, you still there?" Luis's voice brought Sam back to reality. To the messy bed he was laying on in the apartment that felt like _home_.

"Yeah, man, sorry. I spaced out."

"It's cool," the Mexican man replied easily.

"Hey, so why Coppola's winery?"

"You can't see me, but I'm shrugging. Scott said how much he loves The Outsiders and how seeing Matt Dillon, you know the one who played Dally, and Rob Lowe, he played Soda but if you need more info to go on, he's also the fitness crazy dude from Parks and Rec. I guess I get it, but-" Luis cut himself off and the line went silent for five seconds before he continued, "Sorry, got carried away again. You wanna talk to Scotty?"

"Please and thank you, man. I'll see you next time I'm in town."

"Peace, dawg."

There was an audible exchange of the phone being passed, and an even louder chorus of women exclaiming what the Avenger suspected was Luis's name. The next voice he heard was from Scott.

"Snugglemuffin!"

Sam groaned, "Don't call me that with a mutual friend so close by."

"Luis can't hear us. He's too busy explaining how the Star Wars girl in Murder on the Orient Express didn't actually make a rosé just because she mixed red and white wine together."

"Of course that's not how you make a rosé," the younger man said in a serious tone, "You gotta step on pink grapes first, right?"

"Obviously," Scott scoffed. "So babe, I want to make up for not being there-"

"No, man. Look, you didn't know I was coming and-"

"Well I could've told you what Luis and I were up to so you could've just stayed-"

"Hey, it's okay. I love Cali, and I can just hang out with the guys or Hope until I leave Monday morning."

"Sounds like a good plan, but what if I have a better one?"

"Lay it on me," Sam replied.

"We head back home when the train drops us off, pick you up, we all go to Geyserville together, and you and I suffer through a wine tasting while Luis one ups our guide with his knowledge."

Sam smiled, "Sounds perfect."

* * *

**JUNE**

After the third time in a row Shining Star continued to play from Sam's phone, he blindly searched over the nightstand to find his phone. Once he found it, he answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

"Yeah?" Sam yelled into his pillow.

"Sam! Thank God you finally picked up! Do me a favour, go record the Warriors game tonight. I have to help my cousin with her graduation dress because our abuela's got arthritis, you know. So after work, I'm heading over to Berkeley to finish up-"

"Luis."

"Yeah, wassup, buddy?"

"I'm feeling very jetlagged, so I'm going to hang up, record your game, and go to sleep."

"You're the best, see you later!"

Luis hung up instead which was just fine with the poor, exhausted man who'd been trying to fall asleep for the last two hours since he was dropped off by Tony's private jet after a semi successful recon mission. He'd missed his original flight the day before due to a Crossbones hoax sighting that had everyone from Steve to Pepper anxious. When Sam got the news he'd ran out of Albany airport like a bat out of hell right back to the Compound to simultaneously comfort Wanda and discuss their next move as a team. They'd be damned if poor planning had the world reinstate the Accords. 

Sluggishly, Sam more or less rolled out of bed, and walked out of the room like a zombie until he made it to the unmade pullout where he flopped onto Cassie's discarded comforter. He turned his head towards the TV and was relieved to see Cassie's wild sleeping habits led to the remote being right next to him at the foot of the mattress. With the easy laziness of a cat, the Avenger flicked on the TV and proceeded to look for the Warriors versus the Cavaliers game. If he wasn't too tired when Luis got home he'd probably sit down with him and Scott to watch it. He bet Bucky twenty bucks the fourth game would be a victory for the Bay while his white teammate firmly believed Draymond Green would need his fifth game outfit.

The game was set for the same time X Con Security closed up shop for the day, Luis was lucky he was home. He pressed the record button then gave a half hearted glare at the TV when a box popped up to tell him he didn't have the space in his DVR to record it.

"The hell," Sam mumbled.

He pulled up the DVR list and balked at the 1% in the left corner of the menu. The entire list was filled with nothing but cooking shows. Sam looked over the different titles, still surprised at the almost endless list of culinary programs. Barefoot Contessa, The Chew, Rev Run's Sunday Suppers, Simply Laura, Trisha's Southern Kitchen, Martha and Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, The Pioneer Woman…

Better safe than sorry, Sam retrieved his phone from the bedroom and called his boyfriend.

"Hey, babe, what's up?"

Sam could hear him clicking away at his computer, "Just called because when I tried to record the game 99% of the DVR is cooking shows, and my Spidey senses were just tingling at the possibility of them all being yours."

"Guilty, uhh, you can delete all the Simply Laura ones. I can just go on her website."

The younger man went back to the living room and grabbed the remote to do just that. 

"Any reason you have every cooking show but Chopped and MasterChef recorded? You throwing a dinner party?"

Scott yelled something about needing to reschedule a consultation with a customer in Palo Alto. "No, no dinner parties. I just thought that, um, it would be nice if I cooked something other than spaghetti and latkes."

"Really? That actually sounds nice, not that I won't miss your brisket." That got a laugh from the both of them.

"You just have to ask and I'll make you brisket for every meal, snugglemuffin." Somewhere in the background Dave and Kurt were laughing over the embarrassing pet name.

Sam groaned, "Well since you just called me snugglemuffin--I hear you assholes laughing!!!" The sound of laughter increased. "We should have brisket tomorrow."

"Anything for you."

They said their goodbyes and Sam left the TV on to act as white noise as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

"I'm having dinner in my crappy apartment," Scott explained with a small frown. He tugged at the chocolate brown waistcoat, it even shined like a bon bon, "I don't think this is necessary." 

In preparation for what those in the know were recently calling Operation Wasabi ("Because," Luis took a deep breath, "It's bold. It's poppin'. It's not actually exotic but it's just a name, we don't gotta sweat it, bro." " _Luis_."), Scott went shopping for new clothes. As it turned out, so did those in on his plans. The Pym/Van Dyne father-daughter duo arrived with a garment bag and a shoebox. Kurt and Dave toted a bag of ~~definitely~~ possibly stolen clothes. And Luis, being Luis, brought out a gray box with a sparkly, silver bow and presented it to his roommate.

Needless to say, Scott was very flattered that his friends were as much invested in Operation Wasabi as he was. As he examined the three piece suit his mentor and partner brought him, he made a mental note to be very supportive of his friends' future relationships.

"Scott," Hank lifted his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a moment Sam remembers for the rest of your possibly short lives. Try to consider-David, don't kick me!"

The aforementioned man kicked him again, "Don't put your foot in your-ah, shit, Hope!" 

"You both exhaust me, and I'm a _superhero_ ," the brunette glared at them both.

"Can we return to criticizing Scott's outfit?" Kurt took a sip of his beer.

"There is nothing wrong with the suit," the eldest amongst the group defended.

"I don't know, Mister Pym. You got my boy lookin' like he should be going to a charity function hosted by Tony Stark." Luis's brown eyes brightened up in a flash at the idea. "Scotty, is Tony Stark hosting a charity function anytime soon? I've always wanted to go to one and look hella dope in that suit I got from Men's Warehouse. Like it's always been this fantasy of mine to become famous and go to the Met Gala, and flawlessly execute that year's theme Rihanna style."

"No and the suit's a no-go," Scott said as he went to his room to change.

"Try on what we got you!" Dave yelled.

"It is both fashionable and practical," the Russian stated confidently.

Scott reappeared in front of his friends in a red, wool plaid shirt, light blue carpenter jeans, and to complete the ensemble a pair of Timberlands.

"Oh dear God," Hope exclaimed.

"I don't look that bad, do I?"

"Scott, you look like you should be chopping wood on the cover of some nature magazine," the sole female declared.

"Luis?"

"I gotta side with Hope. You look like the machismo guys my cousin Isabel complains are bad in bed," Luis grimaced.

"Eww."

"Y'all don't know what you're talkin' about," Dave retorted, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Really?" Hank gestured to his successor, "He looks like he should be stalking the woods for a wolf dressed as your grandmother."

"Is masculine outfit and will distract Sam from plan. He will wonder, 'My boyfriend is becoming lumberjack,' and never suspect you are having question."

"Exactly," Dave said, fist bumping Kurt.

"Did you just imply Scott doesn't dress masculine to begin with?" Hope asked.

"I'm changing," Scott said, grabbing the box his old cellmate left on the kitchen counter before changing again.

When the ex con emerged from his room, he was dressed in dark fitted jeans, a pair of black work boots, and a tight black shirt that contoured to each slip and slide of Scott's torso. His hands nervously wiggled into his pockets as he tried to not think about how he looked like a bad boy who never grew up.

Luis snapped his fingers then pointed happily at his roommate, "That's a winner. See? Daddy knows fashion."

Hope looked at the Hispanic man from the corner of her eye, "He looks like Simon Cowell."

"Give Scott some credit, he has a better haircut than Simon," her father commented.

"Well actually, I was going for Jason Morgan from General Hospital," Luis replied.

Dave shook his head, "Nah nah, can't let you do Scott like that. He looks like the bouncer from that club we were at last week."

"Okay, considering none of you like what you guys brought, can I show you the outfit I got?"

No one objected, so the engineer returned to his bedroom. By the time he left his room, the co-conspirators of Operation Wasabi were engaged in a discussion on entertainment versus accuracy in sci-fi movies. A good thing too because Hank was about ready to go red in the face from debating with Luis and Kurt why having an actual Dutch Boy from Geostorm wouldn't be possible. All eyes landed on him and the conversations in the room quieted down as Scott took small steps towards his co conspirators.

"Well?"

"Scott, I don't want to sound like the supportive BFF in a lame Nicholas Sparks movie, but you look _great_ ," Hope stated, her scarlet lips were slowly curling into a smile.

"Boy lookin' like a snack," Dave commented helpfully.

Hank looked disgusted, "Is that what the kids are saying these days?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Kurt replied.

"You know, Scotty. I always thought you dressed like a regular white guy who likes wearing a lot of layers because apparently that’s what gay dudes do, but you look like you could be any trope you want. You wanna be the hot guy sitting in a hipster café? Go. The DILF everyone waits to see when they pick their kid up from school? Live it. You're beautiful, man."

"Aww, Luis," Scott rested his hands on his heart, cheeks turning pink at his best friend's words. "Hey, so I bought some new briefs. Mind telling me which one really compliments everything?" Scott turned on his toes to go back to his room and change.

"Scott," Hope said in a low, threatening tone. "You better not leave that room in your underwear."

"Did you look at the DirtyFit ones I texted you about?" Luis hollered from the kitchen. He cheered at the confirmation from his roommate.

Hank's lips pursed, "I'm going to regret asking, but what is DirtyFit?"

"Okay, so there's this YouTuber named Davey Wavey, his channel's called wickedlykewl though, and-"

The front door opened, revealing Sam with a Starbucks drink carrier and a slice of banana bread peaking out of his mouth. Not for the first time, the occupants in the apartment looked startled to see him. And just as before, he was as confused as ever to see them look so startled at his presence.

As luck would have it, Scott decided then was the perfect moment to leave his bedroom in a different top than what his team had approved of and a pair of galaxy print briefs. His eyes widened to the size of saucers when he saw his boyfriend staring back at him.

Nervously, Scott held his hands in front of him to conveniently cover his groin area. He quietly cursed his best friend's suggestion of buying underwear with PenisPouch lift technology.

"Uhh, babe, why are you hosting America's Next Hot Dad Bod in the living room?" Sam asked while handing the carrier to Luis.

Kurt opened his mouth to respond, but Luis, Hope, and Dave quickly slapped their hands over his mouth and pushed him further into the couch.

"I-uhh, I splurged on some new clothes and I was showing them."

"Including underwear?" Sam gestured to his lover's lower half.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you are dating a vain man and I like being told how attractive I look."

Hank quietly watched the exchange, pleased that the brunet wasn't digging himself into a hole. Well at least one that wouldn't be too difficult to pull himself out of. Operation Wasabi was still safe. 

"Okay, I'm going to go to the room and finish my coffee while you guys.." Sam gestured vaguely at the group, "Do this."

A chorus of "Bye, Sam" followed his exit. They waited a minute after the door closed to let their shoulders drop and revel in Scott not getting caught _again_.

"Scott," Dave said.

"Yeah?"

"When you changed, did you put the clothes we approved of away?" 

A thoughtful pause passed before Scott spun around and rushed to his room, hollering, "BABE, DON'T LOOK IN THE CLOSET."

* * *

Maggie opened the door with a smile, "Hi, baby! Hey, Sam." She leaned down to hug her daughter who eagerly embraced her mother. 

"Mommy, Sam said that if you let me, I can go stay with him and Daddy for two weeks in DC. He said we can go to all the Smithsonian museums. And Sam talked to his old landlord, and he turned his old house into an AirBnB, so we can stay there! Isn't that so cool, Mommy? But if you really want me to have fun with him and Daddy this summer, Uncle Tony said that he bought paint for my room at the Compound and the four of us can paint my walls, and you know I can't paint on our walls-" she gestured vaguely at the house behind her mother, "Because we're just renting."

"Whoa, jellybean, take a breath," Sam crouched to rub a hand over her back to encourage her to breathe. He removed his hand when he felt her back rise and fall as she took in much needed air. He wanted to laugh at how much like her tio she was becoming.

Maggie mouthed a quick thank you from above Cassie's head before promising the tiny brunette that the grown ups would sit down to go over who and where she would spend her summer vacation. She told her to hang up her backpack and wash up if she wanted to help her make vanilla pudding from scratch. Nodding rapidly, Cassie broke out of the blonde's hold to launch herself into Sam's arms almost hard enough to knock him off his feet.

"Bye, Sam," she mumbled into his neck, "I love you so much."

Shocked, he could only keep his grip on the young girl as she pulled back enough to showcase her bright brown eyes and an innocent smile highlighted by a missing canine. Sam opened his mouth to ask the meaning of her words, but the second he did, Cassie ran past her mother into the house.

"Umm," Sam rose back to his full height, his throat felt dry and something in his chest felt funny, "Was that weird or-"

"She's Scott's daughter," Maggie said quickly, "You can't expect her to not be a little weird."

He laughed, "Fair point. I'm in town until the twenty seventh, so I'll probably see you next weekend."

"See you soon then."

Sam gave the woman a quick wave before he descended the stairs, keys and phone already in hand.

"Sam!" Maggie called.

Said man turned back, eyebrows raised, "What's up?"

"I'm really glad you and Scott are together."

"Oh," Sam felt his cheeks warm up at the sentiment, "Thank you."

Maggie shook her head with a laugh, eyes crinkling beautifully from the force of her smile. "I just mean that you guys fit, like when we were dumb teenagers spending our allowance on BFF necklaces where one half of the heart is 'Best' and the other part has 'Friends' and when we'd meet in the halls or class then the pendants just go together seamlessly when we piece them together."

"Sounds like you're more experienced with that then I am," the superhero pointed out.

"You know what I mean," she gave him that same half amused, half exasperated look he knew she gave his boyfriend.

"And I appreciate it," Sam replied with complete sincerity.

He'd always felt bad hearing the horror stories his friends would tell about the ex and the new beau hating each other. He and Maggie never strayed from their civil common ground and he was pleased to hear she approved of his relationship with her ex husband. Even Paxton respected his presence in Cassie's life. Truth be told, the Avenger was fairly certain Paxton liked Sam more than Scott.

Sam trotted off to his car where he started it and waited for the A/C to kick in by calling Luis. The guys--and possibly Hope but she hadn't give them a definitive answer yet--planned on hitting up Jack in the Box to eat before they went to the movies. Luis picked up after the second ring, voice as chipper as ever.

"Hey, man, just dropped Jelly Belly off at her mom's. You guys settle on a movie yet?"

"Scotty didn't tell you?" Luis asked. Somewhere in the background Kurt was shouting in his native tongue.

"Tell me what?"

"Change of plans, bro. Scott said it's been a while since you guys have had alone time, which is understandable because you guys live on opposite ends of the continent, and you guys just had Cassie this weekend."

"Lou, man, just tell me what Scott said," Sam reminded him.

"Right. Scott said that he's going to make you guys dinner and to take your time coming home. And if you want my opinion on what to do to pass time, you should definitely go downtown and pick me up some cream puffs from Beard Papa's."

"Well, that sounds nice actually," the Avenger started up his rental car. A tiny spark of joy flared through his chest.

"I know, the vanilla cream one is stellar, but if you're getting some for everyone, Dave loves the matcha one and Kurt will be pissed if we don't get enough chocolate ones, so get like five."

Sam rolled his eyes, a traitorous grin forming on his face, "I meant Scott and I having a date."

"Oh, yeah, most definitely, Scotty's romantic as hell, dude," Luis said in a proud tone reserved for fathers.

"I guess I'll see you guys when you get back from the movies then. Just don't see Hotel Artemis without me."

"You got it, buddy. Have fun," Luis sang.

Dave and Kurt could be heard shouting wasabi, Sam assumed they planned on getting sushi after the movie. Once Luis hung up, Sam stuck his phone in the center console and drove downtown. If he played Al Green the entire drive that was his little secret.

* * *

As Sam walked up the stairs to the apartment, he recalled his lover's unusually cheerful mood. Sure, Scott was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, but even he wasn't made of sunshine and red velvet cupcakes. The black hero suspected Scott had planned their dinner since he woke up when Sam heard him singing in the shower. He skipped over Stars when it came on--and Scott _loved_ Russell Crowe's Javert--to sing A Heart Full of Love, followed by a bunch of sappy country love songs. Sam couldn't remember what happened after Halo repeated twice because he decided to hop into the shower and get clean with him.

Whether it was the shower sex, the lox and bagels with French pressed coffee they had for a late breakfast, or just Scott's natural lust for life manifesting, Sam didn't know. All he knew was that a lovely dinner with Scott was just what he wanted.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open easily, "I'm home!"

Scott twisted his head around, a dismayed expression on his face. He was standing on a chair holding the left corner of a banner with one hand and five strips of tape stuck to each finger on his other hand.

"What're you doing?" Sam asked as he walked over to the counter to place the box of cream puffs down.

"Staging our surprise dinner."

"Uh-huh, so sometime today, maybe when I went on a jog, Cassie made a banner that says, 'Sam + Daddy' with a weird looking heart-"

"They're supposed to be ants in the shape of a heart."

Sam smiled, "Sweet, and I'm supposed to believe we cancelled our evening plans with the guys because you had the urge within the last hour to have an intimate dinner for two?"

"It does look suspicious."

"Come on, get off the chair before you fall and break your neck. I'll handle that." He sniffed the air, a delicious aroma of chili and salmon permeated the air, "Wait, are you making-"

"Salmon with a Thai chili glaze."

"Is there-"

"Jasmine rice? Of course."

"If you say-"

"Brussels sprouts fried in brown sugar and garlic? Just took them out of the pan before you got here."

"Scott, I love you," Sam declared as he walked over to the older man to help him out. They ended up switching so Sam was the one holding up the banner and having Scott hand him pieces of tape.

The white Avenger laughed, "Before you even know what dessert is?"

"I can make an educated guess," the dark skinned man squeaked slightly from his lover's left hand sliding away from his lower back to slither between his legs and squeezing his thigh. "Yeah, I have an idea."

"Well we're having those banana Nutella wontons you love, so I think you should get your head out of the gutter."

"Who says we can't have both?" the younger hero quipped.

Sam ran his thumb over the last strip of tape a few times before he deemed it safe to remove his other hand. He carefully stepped down from the chair with Scott's hands on his hips. Once both his feet hit the floor and he was face to face with his boyfriend, Sam took a moment to appraise Scott's outfit. He was dressed in a garnet coloured v neck sweater with a white tee underneath and the sleeves pushed up over his elbows, dark blue jeans Sam just knew were tight enough to show off his taut butt, and surprisingly no shoes to show off a pair of Captain America socks. Even his hair looked soft and fluffy without any gel styling it as it curled up in gentle waves.

"You make me feel bad for coming in a muscle tee and jeans," Sam commented as he leaned in for a kiss.

Scott kissed him back, "Don't be. I like this look."

The younger man looked over at the table, it was moved to the center of the room with a large candle in the center and two sets of utensils spaced apart to leave room for their plates. On the counter was a red Beats Pill+ Luis saved for his morning yoga, but instead of letting out running water sounds or telling him to go into lotus position, it was Troop's All I Do Is Think Of You.

"Anything you need me to do?"

"You can light the candle while I serve the food."

Sam nodded before going off to find a lighter. He returned a minute later sans lighter, but with a matchbox he found in Luis's room next to his incense. As Sam proceeded to strike a match, he tilted his head thoughtfully at the oddly proportioned candle serving as their centerpiece.

"Are those our power outage candles?" Sam asked, he went around the room until there were eight candles burning and the smell of watermelon drifted towards his nose. He'd have to tease his boyfriend about buying a candle because of a Blake Shelton song.

"Yeah, I meant to buy tea candles, but it slipped my mind. And it was either our giant emergency candles or my menorah."

"You mean you haven't been watching candle making DIY videos? I'm surprised."

"No," Scott laughed, "I was planning a romantic dinner for two, not trying to prepare for the end of days."

The dark skinned man returned the matches to their original place then went back to the living room in time to see Scott lay down their plates. When the latter spotted his lover he gave him a broad smile and gestured for him to take a seat. As prompted, Sam sat down in the seat closest to him, his mouth watered being so close to the food and the savory and sweet aroma coming from the salmon's chili sauce.

His attention wandered to the twin set of Bordeaux glasses beside an opened bottle of white wine Sam had never seen before. Scott retrieved the bottle and glasses and placed a glass next to each plate. Warmth bloomed in his chest again at literally being wined and dined like they were at the beginning of their relationship and neither of them knew how to be casual. Scott's last serious relationship was his marriage and Sam had regrettably-but-not-really been relatively single during his initial active years as an Avenger. A couple years later and Scott was still keeping him on his toes.

After Scott was done pouring the wine, he set the bottle down to take the seat opposite the younger man. He gestured at the food, the corner of his lip was trapped between his teeth as he looked at Sam. Smirking, Sam reached for his wine glass which Scott was quick to copy. They clinked their glasses, mindful of the pale gold liquid, and smiled. Sam was too nice to comment on how nervous Scott's was.

"Bon appetite."

Sam took a sip of the wine, the sweet flavour washed over his tongue leading to him taking a bigger drink as he tipped his glass higher. With half the alcohol gone, he put his glass back down to lick the drops clinging to his lips. That.. was the best wine he's ever had. His fingers curled around the neck of the bottle to turn the label towards him.

"Guh-werz-Scott, what is this? It's amazing."

" _Gewürztraminer_ ," Scott grinned at his boyfriend, "Learned about it on the first wine tasting. It's supposed to pair well with Thai cuisine."

"Really?" Sam grabbed his glass again to sniff the liquid, he tried to remember what their tour guide at the Coppola Vineyard said about white wines.

"Hell if I know, seven hundred bucks later and all I learned is that red wine should not be served at room temperature." The brunet gestured at his roommate's door, "Luis helped me pick it out."

"Of course."

"Excuse you, what did you learn from the wine tasting?" Scott pointed his fork at him, a clump of rice stuck to the prongs.

"That rich people take wine too seriously," Sam replied before eagerly digging into his salmon.

"Okay, I'll give you that."

"Seriously though, man. Who can actually taste the nuttiness of wine?"

Scott laughed, "Right? I'll gladly take a Dos Equis over whatever fermented grape juice Tony Stark has at his parties."

"Well I can't really talk shit about wine when you've probably picked the only one I'll ever really like."

"Thanks," the engineer blushed, a big dopey grin formed on his face.

They ate in relative silence, perfectly content enjoying each other's company and the meal Scott poured his heart into just for Sam. When they did speak it was about picking up random words in Ukrainian from Wanda and the bakery Scott has to go to weekly to buy senorita bread for the office, silly things normal lovers discussed over candlelit dinners and it was wonderful. Scott was enamored by every little thing Sam did, from the way he would sip his wine and let it wash over his taste buds before he swallowed and the laughing fit he went into when Scott told him about how a hysterical housewife recognized him as the guy who robbed VistaCorp and attacked him with his tool bag when she found him installing bars on the master bedroom window that she requested.

The bottle only had a quarter of wine left and Glory of Love was playing when a thought occurred to Sam. For months Scott had been acting more odd than usual. He'd walk in on him making phone calls and his voice would get higher before abruptly hanging up, the endless tabs of recipes on his laptop, Cassie's emotional goodbye a couple hours ago, the shit eating grin Dave would level at him when the topic of his relationship would come up like he knew something Sam didn't, the _last minute dinner_. This was the most normal Scott had been around Sam for a long time, and he wanted to know why.

"Babe," Sam put down his fork, he only had a bite left of his salmon, "How long have you been planning this?"

"Uh, a few months?"

The younger of the two narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Should I be worried?"

"No!" Scott exclaimed, his expression warped until he sheepishly looked at a spot on the wall above Sam's shoulder. "I just-I wanted tonight to be perfect down to the last detail."

"Scott," Sam laughed, "I would've been fine if we sat in our sweats eating takeout."

"Think Cassie and Hank woulda killed me if I did," the brunet commented as he reached for his glass.

"Okay, so what can you say about the cooking shows? You trying to go on Cutthroat Kitchen?"

"I wanted to treat you to a nice homecooked dinner."

"The amateur New York Fashion Show in the living room?"

"I wanted to know what I should wear."

"The weird songs that one time we were trying to-"

"Bone?" Scott teased.

"Don't you start."

"Our dinner playlist."

"The weekend long wine tasting?"

"Luis was weirdly adamant that I know my wine besides red and white because he wasn't just going to recommend one to me." Scott pouted a little, "I think he just wanted a free wine tasting weekend, but it was kind of fun.. after I learned my wine. Before that I was ready to throw myself out a window because _it's so boring_."

Sam nodded along with the new information, it all made sense.. well when using Scott Lang Logic.

"Wait, so the day you and Luis got your asses waxed, what were you doing?"

"Well Luis didn't get his done since we did end up going to his cousin, but I still got mine done to keep up my story." The older man shifted in his seat slightly at the memory. "But before I bared my ass to a stranger whose cousin has seen my ass and vice versa, we went to see an old friend from San Quentin."

"For?"

"It's a surprise," Scott grinned.

"Okay, so if there's no cause for concern, why are we at home instead of seeing the girl from Kingsman kill people?"

Scott's face fell at the question and Sam knew he'd pushed the right button. They were here for a _reason_ , and after all the sneaking around and whispering and half muffled giggles Sam was going to find out why Luis accidentally texted him a week ago about an "Operation Wasabi".

"Dessert!" Scott hastily got up from his chair, "We gotta have dessert now!"

"O-kay."

Sam watched as his boyfriend took away their dirty dishes and slid dangerously across the floor and none too gently hit the fridge. He asked if he was okay, which got him a "I'm always okay!" His phone vibrated against his thigh, so he took it out to see a text from Luis.

[ **Luis Hernandez**                                                                                                                                                          now

Coming home from the movies. Any cause for celebration that might require me to be out of the apartment tonight? ;)))))]

Before Sam could reply, his focus melted away when the song changed abruptly from an upbeat country rock song to a Jason Derulo one.

_"105 is the number that comes to my head_  
_When I think of all the years I wanna be with you_  
_Wake up every morning with you in my bed_  
_That's precisely what I plan to do"_

When Scott returned his hands were distinctly lacking in any dessert in wonton form, he didn't even have a plate. The only thing Sam could tell that his lover had in his possession was something black and just large enough to prevent Scott from forming a proper fist around the mysterious item. Instead of sitting back in his chair, he stood beside Sam. Before the latter could even ask why he was so close, Scott slowly descended to the floor until he was down on bended knee with the dark object in his hand resting on his denim clad thigh. It was a small velvet box.

"Babe," Sam whispered, his brown eyes darted from the emerald orbs staring up at him to the small box quietly commanding his attention.

"Sam, the first time I saw you before the rooftop, I was in prison hiding from some Edward Norton skinheads with my friend Peachy." Scott groaned, "Okay, maybe that's not the right information to lead with. What I'm getting at is I saw you on TV. You were this hero being applauded by Captain America and the Black Widow for helping them fight HYDRA and find out what happened to Bucky. Before we met you were a hero to me, and you still are."

"You buttering me up, Lang?" Sam's voice was a little shaky and he tried to mask it with a laugh.

"Maybe. I just want to say you're so freaking great. Sam, you're-you're caring and loyal. When you smile at me I just feel loved in a way I haven't since-since like Cassie was born and I got to hold her for the first time. And Cassie, you love her like you're her real dad too. I know people say I'm some kind of beacon of happiness and chance and all that dumb tabloid stuff, but you… you're so good that you set the curve." Scott chuckled, "I don't want to sound shallow, but you're really handsome too." 

"Scott," the younger man swallowed, his fingers itched to grab for his wineglass, but feared he'd drop it anyways. It was too good to be _real_.

Said man licked his lips nervously. "This was my mom's ring, and when things with Maggie didn't work out I promised my mom and myself that I'd only give it to someone I really loved and who would never give it back to me." He cleared his throat, "And I know you probably can't fit it, but I didn't want to make any changes to it.."

Scott shut his eyes, he squeezed them to the point of seeing stars. He took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to muster up the courage to do what he's been planning for months.

_"You know one of these days when I get my money right_  
_Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life_  
_Will forever be enough, so there ain't no need to rush_  
_But one day, I won’t be able to ask you loud enough"_

It was now or never. He opened the box where an antique gold ring was wedged into the slit in the pillow. It was a slim gold band with many, small accent diamonds around the setting where a larger, cushion cut diamond caught the candlelight. Sam couldn't say a ring ever took his breath away like the one Scott was presenting. Somewhere in the back of his mind an image of Cassie's ornate ring flashed like lightning.

"Samuel Thomas Wilson, will you marry me?"

Sam didn't hesitate, "Yes."

A slow smile formed on Scott's face as he processed his lover's response.

He said _yes_.

Scott raised up from his knees until he could meet Sam's lips in a passionate kiss. Sam raised his hands to frame the brunet's face. They kissed until giddy laughs bubbled in their chests and they separated to giggle against each other's lips. Scott jokingly tried to fit his mother's ring on the appropriate finger on Sam's left hand and chuckled when it stopped at just the first knuckle.

"It doesn't fit," the younger man stated.

"Sam, I'll save every dime I get until I can buy you a ring you deserve that fits," Scott laughed again, his wide grin pushed the tears from his eyes. He wasn't sure why he was crying, maybe a mixture of relief and joy. "Or I'll get this one resized from my pawn shop guy."

"Don't even think about it, Tic Tac," Sam gave him a peck, his left ring finger curled protectively inward until the cool band pressed against his palm. "It's my ring now, and I'm never taking it off." 

_"I'll say will you marry me_  
_I swear that I will mean it_  
_I'll say will you marry me_  
_Ooh whoa ooh oh_  
_Ooh whoa ooh oh_  
_Ooh whoa ooh oh"_

* * *

**JULY**

"Scott," Steve clapped the shorter man on the shoulder hard enough to make him stumble backwards a step, "It's good to have you here. Thank you for coming."

Sam bumped his lover's hip as he passed by them, "Thanks for thinking of him." He laughed before kissing the slight pout his comment created.

"Well we were heading here anyways, and Cassie didn't mind cutting our DC trip short to come to the Compound," Scott shrugged.

The three of them made their way to the debriefing room where the rest of the assembled Avengers were waiting around a Holotable with a 3D topographical map of Latveria.

"Sam, Lang," Natasha greeted as they joined her at a gap in the crowd.

Bruce and Helen Cho stood at the head of the table and waited for the usual pleasantries to end before they began their discussion on a Doombot Thor had unwittingly damaged during a battle in Seoul. The heroes mused over various theories on what business Doom could possibly have in South Korea. No one was particularly worried, Doom wasn't usually their problem and if the Fantastic Four wasn't concerned, then they wouldn't exacerbate the situation. Nonetheless, they felt obligated to look into any issues that may arise from his presence so close to U-Gin Genetics.

No one paid any attention to how close Sam and Scott were to each other even for a superhero couple. Typically, there was half a foot of distance between them out of professionalism in the workplace, but Scott stood behind his lover with his chin resting on Sam's broad shoulders. The latter was perfectly lax as he listened to the two doctors speculate on the Latverian president's interest in the Cradle, he reached underneath the collar of his shirt with his left hand to pull out the chain of his dog tags to play with his ring. The movement caught Bucky's attention from across the table, his blue eyes trained on the metal band while a smirk curled his lips.

"That’s a nice ring," Bucky commented, "A little feminine, but I guess shiny things are shiny things to you, birdbrain."

"Well like I told my fiancé," Sam reached down to grab Scott's hand with his right, the diamond of his ring sparkled like a star. "I'm not taking my engagement ring off for nothin'."

The room was silent for just a moment before it exploded with the overjoyed voices of congratulations from the heroes to the newly engaged couple. Steve and Rhodey hugged their old friend while Wanda pulled Scott aside to express her well wishes. Tony told FRIDAY to call up his usual caterer and send a jet to San Francisco to pick up Scott's friends. Even Hank. Natasha and Wanda asked Vision to get Cassie, so they could all help each other get dressed up for the party, which the man did with a smile and a quick peck to his lover's cheek. Amidst the bustling chaos only planning an impromptu party could produce, Sam was unceremoniously spirited away by his fellow veterans with Bucky obnoxiously explaining that on his wedding night that he'd be giving his flower to Scott.

"What about Doom?" Scott questioned as he powered off the table.

Thor waved his hand flippantly, "Victor Von Doom can be dealt with after the party. An engagement between friends deserves proper commemoration. Come, I must ask you what Sam likes, so I can start looking for a wedding present."

The engineer followed behind him wordlessly.

Doctor Doom could wait, fighting villains could wait, putting their lives on the line could wait.

For now, Sam and Scott were in the center of the common room with their friends and loved ones. Cassie had pushed them towards the dancefloor and all but demanded they slow dance so everyone could watch in awe. Their noses and lips brushed against each other as they grinned like mad at the sheer nerve to be celebrating their love. Scott could feel his mother's ring against his chest from the way they stayed firmly pressed together. Sam turned his head just so to press their lips together in a soft kiss.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my lovely little birdies! I hope you enjoyed this fic, it's been my baby for almost two months and I love it and if you hate my baby we are going to be fighting in the street, Susan. 
> 
> Oh, fun fact. Operation Wasabi is based off a different Operation Wasabi that my friends and I did in the ninth grade to plot our friend Kerry's first kiss with her ex Shawn. Another successful mission I spearheaded, mind you. 
> 
> Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go to Odinsleep bc I'm exhausted. Take care of yourselves, love ya lots.
> 
> All my love~  
> Robin


End file.
